Mayo students setting a high standard at BT Young Scientist Competition

Mayo Advertiser, Fri, Jan 12, 2018

Minister Ring with Patrik Zacek of Ballinrobe Community School, Mairead MacSweeney of BT, and teacher Deirdre Dwyer at the BT Young Scientist Competition.

Minister Michael Ring has commended participants from County Mayo whom he met on Wednesday at the BT Young Scientist Competition in the RDS, Dublin. “It was a real pleasure to meet these highly talented young people from County Mayo today in the RDS. Their projects were presented to an extremely high standard and reflected the clear talent of these young students."

Minister Ring added: “It is admirable how, at such a young age, they have the ability and the confidence to go and present their theories at this major exhibition which is contested by young people from every county in Ireland. They are a credit to themselves, their families, and their schools."

Speaking about the contestants from Mayo he met, Minister Ring said. "Ariadna Gomez Kelly from the Sacred Heart School in Westport presented a fantastic study on the differences in how unchallenged children and children with Down syndrome perceive gender roles as they get older. Laura Campion and Holly Kenny from St Mary’s Secondary School in Ballina gave me an excellent presentation on their study of how the compression on soil by farm machinery impacts on the growth of plants and micro-organisms. Ruth Byrne and Louise Foody, also from St Mary’s Secondary School in Ballina had a fascinating project on how the earth’s magnetic field impacts on the behaviour of dogs. I also met with Seoirse Swanton from Sancta Maria College in Louisburgh. His investigation into how changing weather patterns could be leading to population decline in swift breeding pairs was excellent. Patrik Zacek from Ballinrobe Community School presented a really interesting comparative study on the effect of climate on the emotions of teenagers in Ireland and Slovakia, and I was delighted to meet with his teacher, Deirdre Dwyer who was there to support him."

He concluded: “I wish all of these young people the very best in this competition and for the future. It is exciting and encouraging to see people of their ability representing our local schools. I strongly encourage young people in Mayo who are interested in the sciences and the natural environment to consider entering this competition.”